The Day the Streets Ran…

…yellow.

It rained a little early yesterday morning, and right around the time it stopped The Curmudgeon decided to go out and run a few errands. It wasn’t even nine o’clock; his days of sleeping much past seven-thirty appear to be behind him.

When he stepped out the front door there was a wet, yellow mixture at the bottom of the downspout that carries water off the roof. He stepped into the driveway and there was a yellow-tinged puddle outside Mrs. Curmudgeon’s car. As he crossed the street to get to his own car there were several thin ribbons of yellow running down the street.

What were they? What was this…ooze?

Upon closer inspection he realized they were rivers of pollen: pollen rinsed off leaves and trees and cars by the early morning rain that left the asphalt-black street covered by a pale yellow brine. When he returned home a little more than an hour later the water had evaporated but the pollen remain, leaving the asphalt now covered by a fine yellow powder.